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Planet Benson
A Federation colony world Location: Sector 27559, About 40 light-years distant from Earth. Nearest non-Federation neighbor, the Klingon Empire, approximately 70 light-years distant. Geography: Class "M" world, fourth out from primary, named Benson or "Ben-Sun". Approximately 5 billion years old. Overall climate temperate. A lack of extreme geology makes the weather and climate slightly less variable planet wide that the Earth. Capital City: Benson City, population 2,536,892 As of 2370. Seat of government, center of computer manufacturing, primary agricultural market. Set on the coast of Alpha Continent, features several four star restaurants, opera, active live music scene, decent surfing. People: Most of the population on Benson is human, of Earth descent. There is a large Bajoran colony, refugees from the occupation of Bajor. There are also a few enclaves of various other races, none numbering more than a few hundred. The principal language is English with a smattering of "borrowed" phrases from other galactic languages. The second most widely spoken language is Bajoran. The third is Vulcan. Government: Representative democracy. The elected leader of the colony holds the title Governor. There is also a legislature and a court system, with the High Court being the highest on Benson. Decisions of the High Court can be appealed to the Federation Supreme Court, although no such appeal has ever been heard. There is a planetary initiative clause where a popular vote can enact a law, or defeat one in a planetary vote of confidence. Benson is an associate member of the United Federation of Planets. It sends a representative to the Federation assembly, but does not hold a seat on the council. Bensonites consider their Representative at the Federation Assembly a useless gesture, and typically send a good speaker who seems to old to hold a "real" job. Military: Benson doesn't have a native defense force or military, like other planets. Instead they man a Starfleet reserve center. This center handles space control, disaster relief and other functions a "National Guard" might be expected to, as well as space defense and the training of enlisted personnel and Cadet Candidates. Centered at the Benson Starfleet Reserve Center in Benson City, the Starfleet Reserve is popular on Benson. The Benson Starfleet reserve numbers nearly eight hundred enlisted personnel and about 20 full time Starfleet officers and another 20 part time reserve officers. Economy: Benson is a self supporting economy, based on agriculture and light manufacturing. The principal export of Benson is a small amount of delicate computer components which cannot be replicated. There are some agricultural exports. There is a small market in wines and beers native to Benson but the amounts are too small to be relevant to the planetary economy. The principal unit of exchange on Benson is the Federation Credit. Gold-pressed-latinum is also used. History: Benson was discovered in the 2200's by Sheila Benson, who referred to it by catalog number. Later the name Benson was attached by her heirs who sold the claim on the planet for a tidy sum. Benson was settled in the 2230's by the Chartered Benson Company. The Chartered Benson Company was a Standish based organization. The planet was setttled by Earth people and Standish colonists. The Chartered Benson Company was intended to set up off-site mining and manufacturing to back up Standish. In the 2250's the Chartered Benson Company began to suffer financial hardships and sought to sell its claim to Benson. The Colonists were outraged by this act which threatened to sell their homes out from under them. There was a civil war on Benson which lasted from 2258 to 2262. It was ended by the Federation starship USS Hood, which used a distant crisis to seize Benson under a form of "Imminent Domain" rule. This ended the civil war in the colonists favor. After the democratic government of Benson was established, it was decided to man and run a Starfleet Reserve base rather than establish a defense force or national guard. Starfleet is still very highly regarded on Benson, as are starships named USS Hood. The captain of the USS Hood was declared a national hero. A statue of the constitution class USS Hood can be seen in the central park of Benson City. Since then, Benson has been a quiet member of the Federation. Appearance: Benson was a setting for Jay's Star Trek games of the 1980's and early 1990's. Disclaimer: Paramount owns all things Trek. I claim original characters and situations in this material for me. Category:ST-OM Category:Planets